The No Kings movement has announced a nationwide event on 14 June, directly counter-programming Donald Trump’s 80th birthday celebrations and a Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) bout on the south lawn of the White House.
The centerpiece is a 90-minute concert at New York’s Town Hall featuring entertainer Bette Midler, songwriter Patti Smith, actor Jane Fonda, musician Rufus Wainwright and commentator Joy Reid – streaming free nationwide, while local groups host watch parties across the country. The event is co-presented by the Committee for the First Amendment, a coalition of artists and cultural figures, and frames the US’s 250th anniversary as a moment of democratic reckoning.
The plans put two very different visions for the occasion in direct competition.
The US president is billing UFC Freedom 250 as a historic national celebration: a star-spangled octagon arena on the south lawn of the White House, with 4,000 ticketed guests, and a fan festival on the Ellipse expected to draw up to 100,000 people. The weigh-ins are reportedly set to take place at the Lincoln Memorial.
Trump has claimed that demand for tickets, for an event which will feature a title fight between the lightweight champion Ilia Topuria and the interim champion Justin Gaethje, has been unlike anything he has seen. White House spokesperson Davis Ingle called it “one of the greatest and most historic sports events in history”.
No Kings, meanwhile, announced a concert, billed as A Night to Build Community, after a string of major mobilizations.
“We can let strongman politics and corruption define the moment,” it said in a statement. “Or we can make the story of America about people coming together – across race, background, identity, belief and community – to defend our rights and build a future rooted in people power.”
The first No Kings day, held on Trump’s 79th birthday last June to coincide with a military parade in Washington DC, drew an estimated 5 million participants nationwide, and by October, organizers claimed 7 million people turned out.
A third mobilization in March brought an estimated 8 million people into the streets in all 50 states and more than two dozen countries – which organizers described as the largest single-day protest ever recorded.
This year’s action adds a cultural dimension to the street protests, pairing the concert format with local community gatherings that organizers say will include art-making and civic action alongside the broadcast.
